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Jan Gruber

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Jan Gruber

Package tours: Tui introduces service fees in travel agencies

Jan Gruber 21 April 2021 07:34

Until now, booking package holidays in travel agencies was generally free of charge, as the agents receive generous commissions from the tour operators for their work. The travel group Tui is changing this and from May 2021 will charge up to 39 euros in “service fees” per booking in its own agencies. Numerous Tui travel agencies are run by independent entrepreneurs, i.e. franchisees. They can charge a fee, but do not have to. The Tui Group hopes, however, that service fees in agencies will become the industry standard. Sales Director Hubert Kluske is of the opinion that “good service must be rewarded”. In the future, there will no longer be free initial advice in Tui travel agencies. The needs analysis and price comparison will cost 15 euros if the trip does not cost more than 499 euros. If it is more expensive, 29 euros will be charged per booking. For the price of 39 euros, additional “premium services” will be offered. Flat-rate service fees in travel agencies are not entirely new. Many agencies add a processing fee for booking train, ship and flight tickets. The reason for this is that most airlines no longer pay commissions. Travel agencies therefore have to buy the tickets at the public rate and charge a freely calculated fee for their service. Flat-rate consultancy fees have so far been the absolute exception for package tours.

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From May: Air Malta is expanding its flight operations again

Jan Gruber 20 April 2021 10:31

The airline Air Malta will fly to more destinations again in May 2021. 26 weekly rotations to 11 destinations are planned. In Germany, the flight will fly to Frankfurt am Main and in Switzerland to Zurich. The resumption of the Vienna route is not scheduled for June 2021 at the earliest. All providers' services between the Austrian capital and Luqa in Malta are currently suspended. Malta plans to reopen to tourism on June 1, 2021. People who can prove that they have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 are allowed to enter without restrictions. All others must present a negative corona test. This applies to passengers from the European Union and those countries with which bilateral agreements have been or will be concluded. From May 2021, Air Malta plans to fly to Amsterdam, Brussels, Catania, Frankfurt, London-Heathrow, Lyon, Milan-Malpensa, Paris-Orly, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Rome-Fiumicino and Zurich. A total of 26 weekly rotations are planned from Luqa. From June and July 2021, the flight offer is to be expanded further, with this being done gradually in line with demand. State aid submitted in Brussels Last week, the Maltese government applied to the EU Commission for state aid for Air Malta. This amounts to 290 million euros and is intended to ensure the airline's survival. The carrier stated in February 2021 that it had lost an average of 170.000 euros per day since the beginning of the corona pandemic. State aid for Air Malta is also seen by the government as a tough nut to crack, because in the past a lot of money was pumped into the loss-making carrier. This means that there is a ban on state aid. This is why Brussels argues

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British Airways: iPhone flared on board

Jan Gruber 20 April 2021 09:35

A commercially available iPhone caused trouble on British Airways flight BA30 on September 2020, 206. According to the report of the British accident investigators, the iPhone was slightly squashed in the seat and caught fire. The crew was able to quickly contain the fire, so that neither passengers nor the Boeing 787-9 were harmed. The investigators were particularly concerned with the question of why the iPhone caught fire without any obvious intervention. The design of the so-called premium seats apparently played a decisive role. These have significantly more "small parts" on which mobile phones can be crushed. The passenger's iPhone probably fell out of his pocket and then found its way into the mechanism of the seat. The next time he moved, it was inadvertently squashed and caught fire. Accident report highlights the crew's professional behavior. Flight BA206 took off from Miami Airport for London Heathrow on the evening of September 30, 2020. At around 8:00 a.m. the following day, the crew noticed smoke rising from a first-class seat during the flight. All measures that are often practiced in training were immediately initiated. This prevented the iPhone fire from having serious consequences. After the flight attendants had extinguished the fire, the third pilot inspected the situation and reported to the captain. The captain then decided that there was no danger and the flight could continue. The Boeing 787-9 with the registration G-ZBFK was about 35 minutes from London at the time. Nevertheless, a so-called pan call was made. The crew's approach is

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Munich: Air Dolomiti postpones Forli again

Jan Gruber 20 April 2021 08:36

Air Dolomiti has been wanting to start a non-stop connection between Forli in Italy and Munich for some time. So far, this has not happened, as the start, originally announced for December 1, 2020, has been repeatedly postponed. The Lufthansa subsidiary will not meet May 3, 2021 either, local media reports. Air Dolomiti confirmed to Aviation Direct that it is now aiming for June 2, 2021. The route is to be served with Embraer regional jets stationed in Munich. The carrier's fleet currently consists of 15 Embraer 195s. Air Dolomiti was also the only operator to operate under its own brand during the "Lufthansa Regional" era. Nothing has changed so far, because unlike Cityline, the Italian subsidiary continues to fly under its own flight numbers and in its own livery. In addition, connections are also operated from Munich on behalf of the parent company Lufthansa.

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Despite the Supreme Court ruling: Ryanair is making check-in fee reimbursement extremely tough

Jan Gruber 20 April 2021 07:32

In May 2020, the Supreme Court prohibited the former airline Laudamotion from charging check-in fees. Since this was declared illegal, affected passengers have the right to a refund, but according to a report in the Kronen Zeitung, this is precisely what is not working particularly smoothly. One would actually assume that if there is a supreme court ruling, the reclaiming of illegally collected fees should be easy and straightforward. According to the media report, Laudamotion and Ryanair have been making affected passengers wait for almost a year for the refund of the check-in fee of 55 euros per person and route that was overturned by the Supreme Court. In the past, the two carriers have occasionally made use of the fact that flights were flown under OE flight numbers (Laudamotion), but the tickets were sold by Ryanair (FR). The travelers' contractual partner was always the Irish airline, but the airline shifted responsibility for unpleasant requests to Laudamotion in Schwechat, where affected travelers were sent back to Ryanair customer service. This practice no longer exists, as Laudamotion is no longer an airline and its successor, Lauda Europe, flies exclusively as a kind of subcontractor in wet lease for the Irish sister company. But what about passengers who paid 55 euros per person and route at the check-in counter before the Supreme Court ruling? According to a report in the Kronen Zeitung, neither Ryanair nor Laudamotion have yet paid a family a total of 220 euros. The travelers stated that the web check-in did not work and then paid at the airport, otherwise they would have been refused boarding. The Supreme Court ruled in May 2020 that

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Hong Kong uncovered Covid cluster on Vistara flight

Jan Gruber 19 April 2021 16:32

The airline Vistara got into trouble in the Chinese special administrative region of Hong Kong, because the authorities accused the carrier of importing 47 Covid cases on a single flight. All travelers had negative results before departure, but those taken upon entry into Hong Kong were positive. For the carrier, this initially means a flight ban to the special administrative region. Hong Kong's entry regulations are similar to those of China, but are not completely identical. In principle, only residents and people who fall under a few exceptions are allowed to travel to the special administrative region. A PCR test must be completed before departure. This must not be older than 72 hours. After landing, the Hong Kong government will arrange for another swab. The people must stay in a specified quarantine accommodation for 21 days. During this time, further tests can be carried out. The passengers on Vistara Flight 6395, which flew from Delhi to Hong Kong, all had negative PCR results. Before starting quarantine, all passengers were tested again and six people tested positive. At the end of last week, another 25 passengers who were on board the flight in question tested positive and on the twelfth day another 22 positive cases were added. So far, 47 passengers have tested positive for Covid-19. All are still in the quarantine accommodation assigned by the Hong Kong government. Infections presumably on board Particular attention is being paid to a seat map that is circulating on the Internet. This shows that the virus apparently spread in economy class.

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Lauda Europe exchanges Crewlink flight attendants

Jan Gruber 19 April 2021 12:09

Crewlink, the temporary employment agency working for Lauda Europe, has not renewed the fixed-term employment contracts of numerous flight attendants who were working from Vienna-Schwechat in recent days. Some of those who insisted on the continued effect of the Laudamotion collective agreement were also reportedly laid off immediately. Crewlink is obviously using the proverbial "iron broom" to go through the company and parting ways with those cabin crew who are considered "rebellious". As a personnel leasing company, the collective agreement for temporary employment agencies or, when working for Lauda Europe, that of Laudamotion would have to be applied. The latter is legally tricky. Last year, Laudamotion management threatened to close the Vienna base if the social partners did not conclude a new collective agreement in accordance with the company's wishes. The employees took to the streets twice and even demonstratively flew out the Airbus A320, which was still registered in Austria at the time. After the social partners had agreed on a key points paper, management asked the workforce to agree. Anyone who refused was given notice of termination shortly afterwards. Lawsuits pending regarding the continued effect of the collective agreement According to the Vida union, the “new Laudamotion collective agreement” was not finally concluded. The Chamber of Commerce also said that contact was suddenly lost, so that the formal conclusion was not made. In the summer of 2020, it was announced that Laudamotion would be closed and that the Maltese successor Lauda Europe would take over. The Stuttgart and Düsseldorf bases were closed and at the same time all employees were laid off. In Vienna, the switch to Lauda Europe was used to lay off more employees. The Laudamotion collective agreement is said to

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Survey: Austrians split on lockdown question

Jan Gruber 19 April 2021 11:35

A recent survey conducted on behalf of the television station ATV has shown that the majority of Austrians oppose a nationwide lockdown. However, the survey also shows that the country is divided, with 49 percent in favor of nationwide measures. Within the 51 percent who oppose new lockdowns across Austria, a remarkable picture emerges, with 74 percent of FPÖ voters strictly opposed to such measures. Among SPÖ voters, on the other hand, around three-quarters are said to be in favor of nationwide lockdowns. "As long as the numbers in the other federal states remain stable, it will be difficult to convince the population of a short, hard lockdown in order to get into the summer in a stable manner. Freedom Party voters certainly won't. The only hope is that the numbers will remain stable until the vaccination campaign takes effect," says opinion researcher Peter Hajek.

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Lauda Europe: flight attendants should sell more alcohol

Jan Gruber 19 April 2021 11:08

The flight attendants on the Maltese airline Lauda Europe are now being pressured to focus sales on alcoholic beverages and the controversial Ryanair scratch cards. New “service announcements” have also been introduced. The company even wants to use mystery passengers to monitor compliance with the instructions. This is evident from a letter sent to the flight attendants by the base supervisor responsible for Vienna, which has been obtained by Aviation.Direct. The letter specifically instructs that the sale of alcohol and the controversial Ryanair scratch cards must be “pushed”. Symbolically, alcoholic beverages are to be offered more on routes to and from Palma, among others. Extract from the internal instruction, which is available in English: “On MAD route, especially on late scheduled flights focus on Alcohol Service. On PMI route focus on alcohol service on the flight to PMI. On all Italian routes (BRI – CIA – CTA – MXP – NAP) always push on scratchcards and dedicated services for fragrances (20€/30€ perfumes service) On Portuguese routes (FAO – LIS – OPO) focus on Fresh Food and Alcohol. On German routes (DTM – CGN) focus on Alcohol and push on Scratchcards. On BLL and NYO main focus on D-Cart, especially Fragrances and Alcohol. On STN and MLA flights focus on Alcohol. On Greek routes focus on Alcohol, Scratchcards and Perfumes. On TLL and VAR focus on Perfumes and Alcohol. On OTP push on Perfumes.” The document attached to the internal email lists the service procedures for individual routes. According to the accompanying letter, these must be followed meticulously. The service procedures for the Palma flights are shown here as an example. It is noteworthy that

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Spicejet made an involuntary “trip” to Iran

Jan Gruber 19 April 2021 09:35

On Friday, the Boeing 737-800 with the registration VT-SZN, operated by the Indian low-cost airline Spicejet, had to make an emergency landing in Zahedan (Iran). The airline confirmed the incident and stated that the cockpit windshield was broken. The medium-haul jet was en route from Riyadh to Lucknow. Flight SG9749 suffered the windshield breakage. For this reason, the pilots quickly descended to a lower altitude and decided on an emergency landing. This was successfully carried out in Iran at Zahedan Airport. All passengers and crew members were able to safely disembark the Boeing 737-800. The aircraft did not have to remain in Iran, as this is traditionally complicated and bureaucratic due to the US embargo on the procurement of spare parts. According to Spicejet, the pilots checked the windshield thoroughly and found that the crack that appeared in the co-pilot's area only affected the outer layer. After just over five hours, the onward flight to Delhi began. The passengers were then transported within India to Zahedan. Spicejet stressed that the safety of travelers is its top priority and that it has been established that at no time was there any danger to crew or passengers. The VT-SZN reached Delhi in the early hours of April 17, 2021.

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